From the KRBC Weather Lab & Meteorologist Chris Whited...
* Roads are icy this morning across the area thanks to freezing drizzle and some fog in the region. There have been reports of several accidents across the Big Country due to icy on roads and bridges. Please use extreme caution if you are out driving today across the area. Temperatures will remain below freezing until Saturday so this ice could stick around with us.
* The Arctic cold front swept across the Big Country late night now leaving us with the coldest air of the season across West Central Texas. Cloudy and some drizzle start the day but we should see some of the clouds break up into midday and the afternoon. A very cold day with highs ranging between 23-27° across the area. Winds will be north at 20-30 mph, producing wind chill values from 5-15° today.
* A very cold night ahead with a partly cloudy sky and lows ranging 8-13° for the area. Winds will be northerly tonight 15-25 mph, producing a wind chill of -10 to 10° for us. Because of the extreme wind chills the National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Advisory for areas north of Interstate 20 for now. That doesn't mean areas south of I-20 will not see dangerous wind chills.
* A extremely cold start Friday will only see high temperatures warming again into the middle 20s across the area. Wind chills will range between -10 to 10° early then range between 5-15° later in the day. A disturbance will work out of New Mexico and into Texas. This system is forecasted to bring some flurries or even some very light snow to our area. Again anything that falls will stick as cold as it is, but overall I don't see there being any accumulation issues. the best chances of seeing that snow look to be west of Abilene across the western counties of the viewing area.
* Weekend: Cold start Saturday morning but a little warmer as highs climb into the upper 30s on Saturday afternoon under a mostly sunny sky. Overnight lows will be in the upper teens. We are still mostly sunny on Sunday but warmer with highs in the middle 40s and dropping into the upper 20s for Sunday night.
* Next Week: Much warmer with highs back into the lower to middle 50s on Monday and into the middle of next week with a mostly sunny to partly cloudy sky. Models are developing a rain chance for the eastern counties on Wednesday and temperatutes should be warm enough for this to be all rain. This data could change so stay tuned.
* The Winter Outlook: The Climate Prediction Center indicates a moderate El Niño pattern will bring West Central Texas a wetter pattern here in the winter months. Increased wintry precipitation is possible depending on temperature trends. Equal chances of above or below normal temperatures remain possible for the area.
* Drought Information: For the latest drought information for the state of Texas please visit the U.S Drought Monitor website by clicking here. The data is updated by the government every Thursday morning around 7:30 AM local time. We're starting to see some light drought conditions returning to the far western counties.
* Join us for the latest news and weather updates in the mornings for Abilene & the Big Country on KRBC's Abilene Today at 6:00 A.M. and on Abilene Midday at 11:30 A.M. Our news and weather coverage continues in the afternoon at 5:00 and tonight 6:00 and 10:00 P.M. on KRBC.
* KRBC on Twitter: You can follow us on twitter anytime for quick weather updates, especially during severe weather and winter weather events affecting the Big Country by visiting the KRBC Weather Twitter. News updates from KRBC and our website BigCountryHomepage.Com are available via twitter also by visiting the Big Country Homepage Twitter.
Enjoy your Thursday...
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